Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
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Eastern Kentucky
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Tony Gibson Earns First Win As Head Coach For Marshall
9/13/2025 10:59:00 PM | Football
Del Rio-Wilson accounts for 3 TDs, Herd dominant in 38-7 win over Eastern Kentucky
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Football celebrated the first win of the Tony Gibson era in resounding fashion as the Herd earned a 38-7 win over Eastern Kentucky in front of 23,925 fans at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Saturday.
Marshall raced out to a 31-point halftime lead on the strength of its defense, which allowed just over 100 yards for the contest.
"That was a happy locker room, and we needed that," Gibson said. "I'm so proud of this football team and these coaches. It's been a long couple of weeks and we finally played the way I wanted them to play. I'm proud of the guys for that."
Linebacker Cannon Lewis, who finished with a team-high nine tackles and the first sack of his collegiate career, said getting that first win of the season was personal.
"It feels awesome!" Lewis said. "That's one of the most exciting wins I've ever been a part of, regardless of what was at stake or where we are in the season. We fight for Coach Gibson really hard. We love him, I love it here and I'm thrilled tonight."
One of the day's defensive standouts was Boogie Trotter, who set the tone with a pair of early first-half interceptions that gave the Herd offense a short field with which to work.
"Coaching did a good job of scouting the other team," Trotter said. "We knew they ran certain routes out of certain formations, so when coach called the plays, I knew it had to be ours."
Trotter's second interception led to the Herd's first touchdown of the day – a 4-yard run by Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, who got the start at quarterback for Marshall. Del Rio-Wilson finished 7 of 9 for 108 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 58 yards and a score.
Justin Williams-Thomas found the end zone twice in the first half as well, scoring on a 3-yard run to give the Herd a 17-0 lead after one quarter, then providing one of two highlight-reel touchdowns in the second quarter as the Herd took a 31-0 lead into the break.
On his second quarter touchdown, Williams-Thomas took a short pass in the flat and trucked a defender before racing into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.
It appeared the Herd would go into the break with that lead, but Del Rio-Wilson had other plans, firing a dart to Adrian Norton, who got a toe down in-bounds for a 30-yard touchdown with just seconds remaining in the first half.
That was plenty of cushion for Marshall's defense, which limited EKU to just 11 yards rushing in the contest and 102 total yards for the game.
In all, Marshall's defense had 10 tackles for loss and five sacks – the second straight week with five or more sacks.
On special teams, Lorcan Quinn hit a 19-yard field goal to open the scoring and Zavier Short got through the line and blocked a punt. Demarcus Lacey also had 72 punt return yards.
Marshall now hits the road for its next two games, starting with a 7 p.m. ET contest against Middle Tennessee at Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Sept. 20.Â
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Team Stats
EKU 0, MAR 3
MAR - Quinn,Lorcan 19 yd field goal 5 plays, 17 yards, TOP 02:21
EKU 0, MAR 10
MAR - Del Rio-Wilson,Carlos 4 yd run (Quinn,Lorcan kick), 3 plays, 21 yards, TOP 01:05
EKU 0, MAR 17
MAR - Williams-Thomas,Justin 3 yd run (Quinn,Lorcan kick), 7 plays, 56 yards, TOP 03:15
EKU 0, MAR 24
MAR - Williams-Thomas,Justin 30 yd pass from Del Rio-Wilson,Carlos (Quinn,Lorcan kick) 3 plays, 35 yards, TOP 01:30
EKU 0, MAR 31
MAR - Norton,Adrian 30 yd pass from Del Rio-Wilson,Carlos (Quinn,Lorcan kick) 7 plays, 53 yards, TOP 01:49
EKU 7, MAR 31
EKU - West,Jayden 13 yd pass from Potts,Jordyn (Flabiano,Buzz kick) 3 plays, 14 yards, TOP 01:03
EKU 7, MAR 38
MAR - Long,JacQai 3 yd run (Quinn,Lorcan kick), 5 plays, 63 yards, TOP 02:06
